Food That Nourishes Us
Reconnect to Food, from seed to table, in Chiang Mai.
September 1-28, 2026
What Is Food that nourishes us?
A 4-week coliving experience in Chiang Mai reconnecting us to food
Food That Nourishes is a coliving experience to reconnect with food through the people who grow it, cook it, and fight for it.
Enter Chiang Mai's local food ecosystem through farms & eco-villages, Chef’s tables, workshops, and shared meals and coliving, as we trace food from seed to table, exploring what we eat through the lens of health, culture, politics, and economy. Leave more nourished with knowledge, skills, and a vision for the future of food systems.
The coliving experience is co-hosted by Light Forest World and Alt_Chiang Mai, part of the 2026 Cosmo Local CNX pop-up city
Who is this coliving experience for?
This is for people who want to deepen their relationship with food through Chiang Mai's local food system
- You work with food and want to learn directly from the people pioneering regenerative and slow food movements.
- You're a digital nomad who wants to connect more deeply to local culture, spend less time on screens, and eat food that actually nourishes you.
- You are a Chiang Mai resident and want to get connected with the local food networks you’ve heard so much about.
- You are food curious and see food as a lens into the future of culture, economy etc., and want to ground that curiosity in direct experience.
- You care about wellness and longevity and want to improve your knowledge about health through what and how you eat.
Program Snapshot
1-28 Sept
Chiang Mai
12 Participants,
invitation-first
Final Project:
Story Harvest Gallery & Sharing at the Main Week
4-week program
Our program is structured around an arc of seed to table through 4 thematic weeks. Download program guide for most up-to-date agenda.
Week 1. Seed
- Orientation & Welcome Dinner with Slow Food Chiang Mai chefs at Madae Balance|
- 2-nights coliving at Panya Forest / Pun Pun
Week 2. Soil
- Living Roots Farm
- Mushroom forest foraging and Tea ceremony
- Shan and Inle cuisine Chef’s Table with Min & Mae
- Food & Futures Thinking Workshop
Week 3. Grow
- Farm to table dinner, Field trip to organic farming village
- Urban Gardening workshop
- Chef's Table Aeeen
- Food Futures Workshop & Story Harvesting
Week 4. Harvest
Joining Cosmo Local CNX Main Week Conference, sharing the multi-media story harvest.
What stays with you
Coliving experience takeaways
- A deeper relationship with food: Where it comes from, how the industrial system changed it, and regenerative alternatives in Chiang Mai.
- A living network of food practitioners: Chiang Mai's farmers, seed savers, soil scientists, chefs, and the slow food community.
- Practical knowledge & skills to live healthier: seed saving, composting, cooking, fermentation, cooking in season, what is truly organic, and futures thinking.
- A new community around health and food: deep friendship from co-living and learning together, that lasts across time and borders.
- A contribution to something larger: Your learning and documentation will feed into the Story Harvest of Chiang Mai food stories.
Cosmo Local CNX
Part of Something Bigger: Cosmo Local CNX
This coliving experience is one of four happening simultaneously under CosmoLocal CNX, a month-long popup village in Chiang Mai's Wat Ket district in September 2026. The other coliving experiences cover Solopreneur, Food That Nourishes Us, and Nomads Future Lab.
Each brings together global participants and local communities around a shared theme. The month closes with a Main Week (September 23–28), when all participants and hundreds of additional guests come together for open events and showcases.
Learn more about CosmoLocal CNX here.
coworking hub
Where you'll learn and work
accommodation
Where you'll stay
All coliving experience participants across all four tracks have 24/7 access to Alt_PingRiver as their shared coworking hub for the month. Beyond desk space and high-speed internet, it's the venue for smaller workshops, informal cross-track meetups, and day-to-day collaboration.
Alt_PingRiver sits in Chiang Mai's Wat Ket neighbourhood, the city's old quarter along the Ping River, walkable to Warorot Market, a network of local restaurants and coffee shops, and most of the programme's field venues.
The space also includes a common kitchen available to all participants for daily cooking, meal prep, and small food events throughout the month.
Packages & Pricing
Stays at Alt_Ping
Early bird until July 1st
Ensuite Standard......................$2,200
Single occupancy. Private ensuite, queen bed.
Ensuite Plus......................$2,400
Single occupancy. Room configuration is King or Twin — King is the default; Twin (two separate beds) is available on request for double occupancy bookings.
The package includes 4 programming weeks (Seed, Soil, Grow, and Harvest), the CosmoLocal Main Week Gold Pass (Sept 23–28), a private ensuite room at Alt_PingRiver with daily breakfast and 8 meals per week, plus 24/7 coworking access, sauna, and ice bath. Double occupancy available for an additional USD 1,200.
The package includes 4 programming weeks (Seed, Soil, Grow, and Harvest), the CosmoLocal Main Week Gold Pass (Sept 23–28), a private ensuite room at Alt_PingRiver with daily breakfast and 8 meals per week, plus 24/7 coworking access, sauna, and ice bath. Double occupancy available for an additional USD 1,200.
Frequently Asked questions
Any queries?
Who is Food Nourishes Us for?
Remote workers, creatives, and curious individuals who want to experience Chiang Mai’s food culture from the inside out, no professional food background needed.
Do I need a professional food background?
No, but you should bring real food knowledge and genuine curiosity. It is designed for people who want to understand where food comes from, how it is grown, and what it means, and who can bring their own perspective into dialogue with what they find here.
What is the Story Harvest?
The Story Harvest is the residency's core output, a multimedia collection of human stories from Chiang Mai's food ecosystem. Participants document their learning in whatever medium suits them: writing, photography, voice notes, sketches. These are woven together into a living document shared with the wider cosmo-local network and contributed to a global food systems research project.
Can I join for just one week?
- Yes. Weekly participation is available. Each week follows a distinct theme (Seed, Soil, Grow, Harvest) and can be experienced independently.
What language is the programme in?
The primary language is English. Some sessions with local collaborators will be in Thai, with translation provided. Reading club texts and guest lectures are in English.
Can I bring a group or book on behalf of an organisation?
Yes, group and organisational bookings are welcome, particularly for weekly sessions. We are especially interested in groups from the food and beverage industry, restaurants, culinary schools, F&B teams, who want an immersive learning week for their people. Contact us to discuss bespoke arrangements.
What is CosmoLocal CNX and how does it connect to this residency?
CosmoLocal CNX is a month-long pop-up village in Chiang Mai running four parallel coliving residencies in September 2026. Food That Nourishes is one of four tracks. All participants have access to the full Alt_PingRiver coworking space and shared community events. The month closes with Festival Week (September 23–28) — a public event open to hundreds of additional guests, where the Story Harvest is shared.
I already live in Chiang Mai. Can I join without the coliving?
Yes. We offer a limited bespoke programme-only track for Chiang Mai locals. Indicate your interest in the application.
Can I arrange my own accommodation?
What's the daily time commitment? Can I work remotely alongside the programme?
Overall the weekly commitment is capped at 50% of your time. Daily commitments Wednesday to Saturday of each week can vary, as some days are more immersive half or full-day programmes. Many of our participants work remotely, and you'll have time and space to do so.
I have dietary restrictions. Can the programme accommodate me?
Yes. We can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and most allergy-based diets. We'll do our best to accommodate, please let us know your requirements when you apply.
Is this a cooking school? A wellness retreat? An academic programme?
None of the above, and a little of each. You'll cook, but this isn't a culinary course. You'll slow down, but this isn't a detox. You'll learn from researchers and practitioners, but there are no exams. Food That Nourishes is a coliving experience, a month of living alongside the people who grow, cook, and think about food in Chiang Mai, and using that experience to understand your own relationship with what you eat.
How is this different from a farm tour or food tourism experience?
Depth, duration, and design. Everything is structured through four streams, experience, study, story, and workshops, that create an immersive learning journey to reconnect with food in a lasting and transformative way. Our futures workshops are designed to help you reflect on and channel your own learnings into something shareable. A farm tour gives you a morning. We give you a month, enough time to build relationships with the farmers, chefs, and communities you visit. You return to the same places, eat meals prepared by the same people, and contribute to a collective story harvest.
What's included in the price?
- Four weeks of programme activities (or one week for weekly participants)
- Accommodation at Alt_PingRiver (room type varies by package)
- Monthly package includes Cosmo Local Main Week Gold Pass (Sept 23–28)
- Daily breakfast and 8 meals per week
- 24/7 coworking access at Alt_PingRiver
Not included: flights, travel insurance, additional meals outside the programme.
Are scholarships or payment plans available?
We have a few special discounts available, and we are open to discussing reciprocity-based exchange. However these spots are limited. Please indicate your interest in the application.
Do I need a visa to stay in Thailand for a month?
Most nationalities can enter Thailand visa-free for 60 days, which covers the full residency. Check your country's specific requirements on the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. We'll provide a reference letter for your trip if needed.
What's the weather like in Chiang Mai in September?
September is green season, the landscape is at its most lush, temperatures are cooler than the hot months (25–32°C), and the rain usually comes in short afternoon bursts. However there are occasional periods of all-day downpours. It's also mushroom season, which is why our foraging experience with Potent is timed for this month.
What's the group size?
We cap the programme at 12 participants to keep the experience intimate.